Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

I am going to Japan soon and am trying to steep myself a bit in the literature and culture ahead of time. It is an ancient civilization that is rich in art and food, two things that I love, and I want to make an effort to appreciate it (to the best of my ability at least). This seems to me like a commentary on the class structure in Japan, which seems to be the thing that is a struggle for twenty somethings. So here goes. Keiko has been a worry to her family all her life, bullied and friendless, until at 18 years old she gets a job at a a job at the local Smile Mart convenience store and, paying conscientious attention to the training video, realizes that she has been doing normal all wrong. She puts her mind to it and excels at the daily monotone of restocks and product promotions and difficult customers, and she finds contentment and self-respect among the brightly lit aisles and hot food cabinets. She finds though that everyone expects more of her, and she is not capable or interested in accomplishing more--though she gives it a couple of tries. It is sad, almost mournful, with nothing of the muted joy found in the film Perfect Days.